Technical Field
The present invention pertains generally to the field of optical wiring systems and data distribution networks, more particularly to optical network wiring and connectors in combination with power wiring.
Background
AC and DC powered devices are controlled by interrupting the flow of electricity. For many decades the interruption was manually decided per the action of a person who had a desire to alter function. Many forms of automation have been added over the years to decrease the actions required to achieve a repetitive sequence when certain events occur. A simple switch added to a door allows for light when opened. A motion sensor added to turn on light when a person enters a room. Automation takes many forms and has evolved to allow configurable systems that permit the choices to vary by simply programming new outcomes when certain conditions apply.
Expanded control takes a few different forms. Two notable ones are (1) by use of homerun wiring schemes and (2) communication using radios. A home run system requires a lot of upfront planning. To enable home run control, systems have been devised to centralize decision making to a single electronic device. This necessitates that wires are connected from all points of control to return to the central electronic decision maker for outcomes. This is effective, but does require a lot of wire and is cumbersome and expensive to change. Many systems installed in homes require 20 to 30 miles of wire. Changing a system or adding new items is very difficult to do. Programming for homerun wired systems is awkward and clumsy. Radio types of control have been tried for many years. Advances allow for addressable radios that will identify and separate devices from one another so that inadvertent communication is minimized. The problem with that is that as the number increases, the polling time goes up and responses diminish. It may be easy to add in new items but the system slows down with each addition. When enough radios are present, the system can be made unusable.
The current state of a resource control system is a randomly executed group of smart devices that communicate using radios at different frequencies and different data protocols. Many use wireless hubs from the internet or communicate device to device. Often times they require batteries and redundant hardware to manage communication data The data does not have a current standard by which to perform, so much of the efforts are completely incompatible. Likewise, the same function is duplicated unnecessarily. For instance, a time function must be present on all devices instead of a central location. This results in low cost and lower performing timing functions due to cost.
Conventional wiring methods also have many drawbacks. Although fixtures, plugs, ceiling fans, light switches, and other permanently wired devices are replaced, the wire making the connection almost is never replaced. There are homes that still use porcelain wiring spools that are over 100 years old. Wiring is simply never replaced until it poses an immediate health or fire risk. When fixtures are replaced, there is sometimes a shorting of the wires or damage in the replacement process. Badly accomplished replacement leads to fire and shock hazards. The difficulties mean that homeowners often have to call upon an electrician to replace or maintain systems that require more immediate attention. In the case of new homes, many times changes are requested for adding switches or altering the control prior to homes being sold. This usually results in very high costs and delays associated with the effort.
The most reliable method of the transfer of information at high rates of speeds is by use of an optical fiber. Light is essentially captured by the fiber and transmits signals from one location to another. Traditionally, this is used for communication between data sources such as computers, routers, modems, switches, telephony, and cable companies. It is reliable but expensive to connect due to its very high quality. A signal can in some cases be transferred miles apart without loss of integrity. It is also virtually resistant to all forms of piracy or vandalism. It does require great skill to install so that its quality is assured and maintained; therefore it is very costly unless it is the plastic variety. The plastic variety has a very short distance that it can transmit.